Top Read-Alouds ala 4Real -- the individual suggestions

Here are the books that only got one vote each when asked for the best
read-alouds. But don't let that fool you -- these are great read-alouds too, but
may be less well known than the ones on the list which received multiple votes.
They're basically in alphabetical order to make it easier to search the list.
Again, pick up a book and start a family read-aloud tonight!

A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
Bantry Bay stories by Hilda Van Stockum
Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Box of Delights by John Masefield
Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Canadian Summer by Hilda Van Stockum
Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease
Curse of the Viking Grave by Farley Mowatt
Dominic by William Steig
Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting
Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kaestner
Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L.
Konigsburg
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
Half Magic by Edward Eager
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (probably NOT for the little ones)
Henry Hugginsby Beverly Cleary
Homer Price and the Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey
House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert deJong
I Am David by Anne Holm
Iceberg Hermit by Arthur Roth
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Martin's Mice by Dick King-Smith
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling
Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Outlaws of Ravenhurst by Sr. M. Imelda Wallace
Owls in the Family by Farley Mowatt
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Peter'sMoose by Hughie Call
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
Rascal by Sterling North
Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal by Robert T. Reilly
Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Rolf and the Viking Bow by Allen French
Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann D. Wyss
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Great Brain books by John D. Fitzgerald
The Light Princess by George MacDonald
The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway
The Wanderers by Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit
Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling
Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
Twig by Elizabeth Orton Jones
Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool by Margaret Gray
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge
Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
Woolpack (Merchant's Mark) by Cynthia Harnett
Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill

Top Read-Alouds ala 4Real

I while back I asked on the 4Real Forum for suggestions of great read-alouds. Here's the suggested list from my 4real friends. Note that some of these are series and some are individual books -- but all are FANTASTIC reading, especially for read-alouds and are suitable for most ages. Many of these books have been made into movies or TV shows -- believe me, the original author's ideas are so much richer than the visual versions. Grab a book and ENJOY a family read-aloud tonight!

1. Narnia books (especially, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe)
2. The Little House books (especially, Little House in the Big Woods and all those prequels written by Melissa Wiley)
3. Charlotte's Web
4. Anne of Green Gables
5. The Hobbit
6. A Little Princess
7. The Lord of the Rings
8. The Secret Garden
9. Five Children and It
10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
11. Betsy Tacy series
12. Caddie Woodlawn
13. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
14. Enchanted Castle
15. Misty of Chincoteague
16. My Side of the Mountain
17. Peter Pan (don't get the one illustrated by Michael Hague -- it's too gruesome!)
18. Pinocchio
19. The Princess and the Goblin
20. The Railway Children
21. Redwall series
22. Swallows and Amazons
23. The Moffats
24. Treasure Island
25. Twenty-one Balloons
26. Wind in the Willows
27. Winnie the Pooh
28. Wizard of Oz

The other suggested titles are ones that only received one vote -- I'll post that list in a separate post (when my youngest isn't clamoring for oatmeal!)

Kids!

After reading this post that Melissa had on her Lilting House blog, I just had to share my kids' actions yesterday. Must have been something in the air:

Seems that Brikhead (17, 6'2" and lover of "stirring the pot") gave BamBam a penny belonging to LegoManiac.

Yes, a penny!

Lego Maniac, understanding that discretion is ALWAYS the better part of valor, didn't go after his 6'2" brother but after his 3' brother. He started chasing BamBam through the house, demanding the penny back (at the top of his voice as we don't seem to do anything quietly around here). LegoManiac was out to kill if he could only get close enough. BamBam, being 4 and pretty darn fiesty, of course wouldn't give up the penny and kept saying it was his as "Brikhead gave it to me".

Yes, a penny!

When I stepped in -- trying to be the oil on the waters, the calmer of discord -- and offered LegoManiac a penny of mine, I was summarily dismissed. Seems the penny that BamBam had was HIS and HE didn't want ANOTHER STINKY PENNY!

Yes, a penny! And a 17 year-old who loves to cause controversies......

Guess What?

We have MORE snow! And the Farmer's Almanac says it will do this on-again, off-again snow stuff for the rest of the WINTER!

Bam-bam decided to go out and catch some snowflakes -- but he forgot socks, pants or mittens (and didn't even bother to zip up). After all this snow, I think the kids are immune!

Feast Day: Conversion of St. Paul

Today is another feast day (don't you just love living the Liturgical Year?). Today is the feast that celebrates Saul's conversion. This is the time described in Acts 9, where God knocks Saul off his horse, he goes blind, spends the next three days fasting and praying and then Ananias comes and helps him to see -- both literally and figuratively. From then on, Paul evangelizes to the Gentiles and fulfills the Lord's words to Ananias -- that Paul is destined to preach Jesus' name "before Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel."

So this is a big deal feast!

Even more so here as Bam-Bam has St. Paul as one of his patron saints. And, boy have we been having fun today. First, we worked out a skit that we'll perform tonight for Granmere, Dad and Kotch with Bam-Bam playing St. Paul and the other two having multiple roles (and I get to be narrator). In the photo to the left, String Bean is dressed as a law-breaking Jew, Bam-Bam is a smiling, Christian persecuting Saul, and Lego Maniac is getting ready to help Saul find Damascus after his meeting with God.

Then we built a tent in the living room (Paul made his living as a tent-maker) so that we could learn in there today -- we did reading and geography and science all in the comfort of our jerry-rigged tent.

To finish the celebration, we made two different kind of Jewish cookies to have with a movie tonight. The cookies, Mandel Brot (biscotti-like cookie with chopped up almonds) and another one that is like a 3-layer bar (a cocoa cake-like bottom, coconut and sweetened condensed milk middle, and bittersweet chocolate "frosting"), will go really well with our movie feature. Tonight in honor of JP2, we watched The Jeweller's Shop. This is a great movie -- I must confess I haven't yet read the original -- but the movie is fabulous with Ben Cross, Olivia Hussey and Burt Lancaster as some of the main stars. It really is a good view of how marriage is and that you never give up. I had to get my copy through ILL -- all the way from Fort Smith, Arkansas!

St. Paul the Apostle, pray for us!

National Pie Day is TODAY!

The kids are thrilled. Not only did we get to do "cooking math" today, but we get to have dessert tonight (we try to avoid sweets during the week to reduce the budget and the poundage!). Anyway, in case you hadn't heard, today is:

National Pie Day

And we couldn't be happier about it! We went ahead and made an experimental pie -- a bit of this and a bit of that recipe to create our very own "Apple Cranberry Pie with Streusel Topping and a Graham Cracker crust". It looks great, smells fabulous and the only problem is we'll have to wait till we finish dinner to test it out.

We'll let you know how it was. Here's the recipe we jerry-rigged if you'd like to try it yourself:

Graham Cracker Crust (preheat oven to 350)

• 18 graham crackers crushed to make approx 1-1/4 cups of crumbs
• 1/4 cup of melted butter

Mix together and press into a high-edged 9" pie pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes in a 350 oven. Allow to cool.

Fruit Filling (preheat oven to 400):

• 4 cups sliced/peeled apples (tarter the better)
• 2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp allspice

Mix all ingredients well so that fruit is well coated with the dry ingredients. Spoon into waiting crust.

Streusel Topping:

• 1/2 cup oats (uncooked)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 cup coconut
• 1/2 cube (4 tbls) cold butter, cut into pieces.

Combine all ingredients except butter in bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle atop fruit in pie pan.

Bake pie in preheated 400 oven for 50-60 minutes. About halfway through cooking, cover pie with foil to avoid overbrowning topping. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or room temp.

ETA: This pie was sensational -- I'd send you a piece, but it's gone! EVERYONE loved it and want more.....

Great Read Aloud

Today we read, as suggested by MacBeth on a 4Real thread, George MacDonald's The Light Princess.The copy we borrowed from the library was illsutrated by William Pene duBois (of Twenty-one Balloons fame).

The Light Princess is a wonderful read-aloud -- I read it in a bit over an hour -- for the littles. Seems a princess has a problem with gravity (now wouldn't that be a cool rabbit trail to follow?) and a prince has to save her. There are good guys and bad guys -- particularly an old witch of an aunt who doesn't play nice, but who does knit:

She left the snake hanging, and sat down on a great stone, with her black
cat by her side. Then she began to knit and to mutter awful words. The snake
hung like a huge leech, sucking at the roof; the cat stood with his back arched,
and his tail like a piece of cable, looking up at the snake; and the old woman
sat and knitted and muttered. (page 26)

St. Brigid's Feast Day coming soon

Feb 1st is St. Brigid of Ireland's feast day. This wonderful woman helped to spread the Good News throughout Ireland, after St. Patrick's many successful conversions in that once-pagan land.

A wonderful book to read for this feast, Brigid's Cloak by Bryce Milligan, is a WONDERFUL story that blends a touch of the pagan with some good strong Christian faith. Milligan's story is fascinating and the illustrations by Helen Cann are glorious.

St. Brigid (spelled the Irish way!) is one of String Bean's patron saints. After reading this book last year, I made her a cloak -- beautiful royal blue poplin for the outside and a lovely gold-outlined star cotton for the lining. She loves this cloak and wears it often for dress-up.

Well this pretty much sums it up, doesn't it?

Not the goods of the world, but God. Not riches, but God. Not honors, but God. Not distinction, but God. Not dignities, but God. Not advancement, but God. God always and in everything.

– St. Vincent Pallotti

Thanks to My Catholic.com, I always know the saint of the day and some pithy comment either from that saint or one with a similar philosophy. Today's saint is St. Vincent Pallotti. Here's what My Catholic.com has to say about him:

(1798-1850)An Italian noble, Vincent was the founder of the
Pious Society of Missions (Pallottines). He devoted his life to the poor and
penitents, and started the special observance at Rome of the Octave of the
Epiphany.

Lego Maniac turns 8!

Happiest of birthdays to our very own Lego Maniac (oh have you've grown in so very many ways, my love!)

(The scarf is a gift from String Bean, her first finished knitting project which she hid for the past couple of days so LegoManiac wouldn't see she was done; interesting that the scarf happens to match the disc-ball one of his grandparents sent him)

We love you and are very blessed to have you in our lives ....

St. Anthony the Abbott -- 250-356 a.d.

Today is the feast day of St. Anthony the Abbott. This was one amazing guy! He was from a distinguished family in Egypt but his parents died when he was a teenager and he was the sole heir.

Hearing the Gospel, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give it to the poor" (Matt. 19:21), Anthony did just that. He was somewhere around 18 at the time. After a bit he moved to the desert and became the father of all monks. He lived the life of a hermit when possible, but many came to seek his advice and soon other men were joining him.

He ate very little, living primarily on bread and water. He must have been doing something right as he lived to be 105! As Father explained today at Mass, St. Anthony was a "true priest in the line of Melchizedek" as he was trying to turn people from sin through his example, his fasting, his prayers and his preaching.

So to celebrate this amazing man, the littles made Saint Spoons (ala Alice). The two at the foot of the Cross, are String Bean's and LegoManiac's renditions of the saint. Note the symbols -- a Tau and bell on String Bean's and a bell on LegoManiac's. The third spoon is Bam-Bam's -- his is a bit more abstract!
Alice's idea was for an All Saints Month of spoons -- we've decided to make these saints throughout the year and then save them for November, when they will line the family altar for the whole month. My kids weren't in the creative mode today, but I will bet as we go with this, the saints will become more and more elaborate.

For "cooking math", in honor of St. Anthony, we are slowcooking "Mediterranean Lentil and Spinach Soup" which we'll have with bread and salad for dinner tonight. The recipe is from Judith Finlayson's 175 Essential Slow Cooker Classics. I've checked this out of the library, but might have to add it to my cookbook stash -- yes, it's that good. The recipes all sound so good!

St. Anthony the Abbott, pray for us!

Like I need another project ...

... but this one sounds so cool. The National World War II Museum in New Orleans has started a new project called "Knit Your Bit". This project has folks from across the nation knitting scarves for WW2 veterans as a sign of appreciation for all that they did back in the 1940s.

I think this is a GREAT idea. Knitting during the war was a big part of the Homefront's effort to encourage our men and women "over there". In fact, String Bean and I just read about this in her Meet Molly book she got with her American Girl doll. So this is a great tie-in with our knitting unit and my encouragement of knitting for charitable causes.

Anyone want to join us? Scarves (and there is a simple pattern at their site if you want or you can make one of your own) need to be received by March 15, 2007. So get those needles clickin'!

Top Dozen Read-alouds

I've asked this on 4Real, but I thought I'd post it here too (as some of you who read my blog might not be on 4Real and some of you on 4Real may have missed it).....

Anyway, I'm trying to come up with a list of the best read-alouds. So, what are you're top 10-12 read-alouds -- I'm talking chapter books, those books that require a commitment and where the kids and parents really get involved in the story.

What chapter books would you say were must read-alouds for a family?

Post here in the comments and I'll compile all the lists and see what we've got, ok?

It does a mother's heart good ...

... to see her daughter loving a craft as much as she does!

NOTE: It doesn't however, make a mom feel too good about her daughter dressed in seersucker capris shorts, bare legs, and no slippers on a day when the outside temp is hovering around 0-3 degrees and there's quite a bit of snow on the ground.... I guess the joy of knitting is keeping her cozy, huh?

Kids' Knitting

Thought you'd enjoy seeing the kids' knitting progress. Both StringBean and LegoManiac had gotten knitting kits from their grandma at Christmas. The one on the left, LegoManiac's, was an Alix kit with slick thick yarn that causes him to be really loose with his knitting -- he's using the needles we made rather than the 15s that came with his kit. StringBean's work is on the right -- her kit was a Lion Brand that came with 19s! (way too big and uncomfortable even for me to use) plus they were plastic and the yarn kept slipping off -- very frustrating. Her work here is using LegoManiac's 15s and her stitches are pretty even.

They both cast-on just 10 stitches -- in this thick yarn, the "fabric" is about 10 inches wide and it's easy to count the stitches every row so we can catch dropped stitches or extra stitches right away.

They're enjoying the process of knitting and if I can keep them from thinking it's a race to see who can finish first, it will be a very successful homeschool project!

On a side note: many have asked about teaching their kids to knit. My advice -- avoid the premade kits like my kids got -- unless you feel very comfortable at fixing mistakes or have other supplies available for them to mix and match. StringBean's needles were just way too big; LegoManiac's yarn is too slippery. I've seen kits that look really cool -- and include novelty yarns that are fuzzy or bumpy or loosely twisted. These yarns look great and the final product -- made by professionals -- looks very seductive but as a teaching resource, they stink -- they only lead to frustration, split strands, and no possibility of then ripping out mistakes.....just my $.02!

Mongolia and Knitting -- finally

Well, the littles were finally able to put needle to yarn and start knitting something for the Mongolian project where we've committed to sending at least five knitted items to the children and adults of Mongolia to help ward off the amazingly COLD winters throughout the country.

We also began a new read-aloud -- I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade, a historical fiction book that talks about a Mongolian girl growing up during Kublai Khan's time. She was injured as a baby by a horse crushing her foot. The only way she can feel free is to ride horses -- something women of Kublai Khan's time DID NOT do. So we've started the book today and it really is shaping up to be a fantastic read-aloud. Lots of detail about the superstitions of the Mongolians, their religious beliefs, their nomadic lifestyle and more. And, the kids had a blast knitting as they listened!

If you and your kids are interested in helping the people of Mongolia, you can find out more about the project on this flyer. Or you can drop me a note and I'll tell you what I know....

We finished REDWALL!

Yesterday, we did a marathon read-aloud session to finish the final book in the first of the series, aptly titled Redwall. If you have not yet read this to your children -- turn off the computer, run out to the library or the nearest book store and get a copy. This is a fantastic action book -- suitable for girls and boys -- with a great moral story. We had such fun reading it and even though the holidays slowed down our read-alouds (that is, we didn't!) we were able to pick up the book and the littles knew exactly who was who, what was happening and eager to move on!

The fun thing about the Redwall series (which I had read with my oldest back when he was 7 or 8) is that the immutable truth of good vs evil, the inconquerable belief that good ALWAYS will triumph burns up these pages. A fantastic world of animals who talk and walk and fight and care for each other. Good guys who are truly good. Bad guys that are really bad. What more could you want in a book?

Oh, did you say a food tie-in? Well, the author, Brian Jacques (a brit who grew up during the war years), has given us supplied a Redwall Cookbook that has tons of recipes that are from the books. Lovingly illustrated by Christopher Denise, this cookbook is fun even if you don't read the books. The recipes all have an excerpt referencing the item, so you can get a feel for the Abbey inhabitants if you're not sure you want to delve into the world on my recommendation alone.

Yesterday we made "Spiced Gatehouse Tea Bread" that was excellent for breakfast this morning. You steep the THREE cups of raisins, golden raisins and currants in hot brewed tea before adding them to the dough. It makes a fruit-rich bread that has a lovely spice flavor.

Tonight, we're having "Loamhedge Legacy Nutbread" -- a non-sweet shortbread like bread that is filled with chopped nuts. Can't wait to taste that one! Edited to add that this was a GREAT dinner bread. EVERYONE loved it and it came out beautifully.

So, again, run don't walk to get a copy of Redwall and read it aloud to your kids. Come back here and let me know what you think and whether or not your kids hugged you for reading them such a great story ....

Litany for Catholic Writers

One of my "side jobs" is an a free-lance writer/reviewer. I even have a BA in Print Journalism from Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. So, when Nancy at Flying Stars posted the "Litany for Catholic Writers", I just had to post it here:
A Litany for Catholic Writers

• St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers
• St. Augustine, who gave us The City of God
• St. Benedict, who gave us the Holy Rule
• St. Bede, who gave us the Ecclesiastical History of the English People
• St. Thomas Aquinas, who gave us the Summa Theologica
• Thomas a Kempis, who gave is The Imitation of Christ (edited to show that he's not a saint, but a very saintly man nonetheless!)
• St. Teresa of Avila, who gave us The Interior Castle
• St. John of the Cross, who gave us Dark Night of the Soul
• St. Therese, Little Flower, who gave us The Story of a Soul
• St. Edith Stein, who gave us The Hidden Life
• St. Paul, whose letters told of the Good News of Christ
• Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who gave us the Gospels -- Pray for
  us.
• Lord Jesus Christ, Author of Life -- Have mercy on us. Amen.

from the Catholic Writers' Conference at Thomas Aquinas College, June 22, 2005.

New Year's Resolutions ... bah humbug!

We're halfway through the month of January ... and nary a resolution have I made this year. I've thought about making them; I've toyed with the idea of doing some kind of cutesy mnemonic that would help me remember them; I've prayed about what I need to change and how to improve.

But, the bottom line is I DON'T LIKE MAKING RESOLUTIONS! There, I've said it. You can stop reading if you want, or you can humor me and hear me out.

Resolutions always seem to be so limiting. Sometime around the end of December you start formulating your plan for next year. You decide what you'll work on and make a list of how to accomplish those goals. You might even get a new notebook or journal or some special place to record these lofty ideals. But then reality strikes somewhere around March and you realize you've broken many (if not all) of your resolutions; you go into a bit of a funk and then realize that resolutions are for the birds!

For instance, here are my resolutions (duly recorded on this blog) last December:

• try to write in this blog at least once per day
• try to meditate/pray every morning before the day starts
• try to minimize the yelling and fussing at the kids
• try to be a better wife and helpmate to my dear husband
• work on an air-tight proposal for a CM-style knitting book
• continue to work on my writing, attempting to publish as often as is practicable.
• remember that during school time (8-noon) and (3-5p.m.) my kids are my first priority
• avoid twaddly textbooks and use only living books
• incorporate picture study, composer study and nature study into every week
• shift from workbook-style math to living math
• incorporate real living -- prepping dinner, chores, cuddle time -- into our daily curriculum (I tend to do it all myself as it's faster and easier....)

Now, I didn't blow all these in the first three months -- but, honestly, I didn't do each of them as best as I could. Why? Life and living got in the way. These were way too specific. I found that by "forcing" myself to write in this blog EVERY DAY, I was taking time away from the family, my knitting and other pursuits. Definitely not the result I was looking for.

These resolutions were made before we sold our house, thinking we were moving back to Austria, only to find ourselves, one year later, living, loving and learning in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains! Life got in the way. God threw us a few curve balls and the resolutions were'nt so important anymore. And, that's ok!

So, be it hereby known to all those who have read this far: I have one resolution -- to do my best in all things, but especially to place my family first -- whatever curve balls God thows at us -- and to live, learn, love and laugh with all as often as possible!

Homeschool Activity Day: Epiphany Party!

Well, seems Epiphany has lasted three days now. Today I hosted an Epiphany party for our local Catholic hs'ers. It was great with 30 some kids, a handful of moms, and one VERY pregnant mom.

Books Used, Referenced or Read:
Hurray for Three Kings' Day -- Lori Marie Carlson -- a combination of Hispanic cultures' traditions for celebrating el Dia de Los Reyes
Three Kings Day - A Celebration at Christmastime -- Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith -- follows a NYC Puerto Rican girl and her family through their celebration of el Dia de Los Reyes
Babushka -- Charles Mikolaycak -- the story of the Russian peasant who gives up the chance to go with the Magi to see Jesus and lives forever trying to find Him (and leaving presents for children every Epiphany)
The Stone - A Persian Legend of the Magi -- Dianne Hofmeyr -- this is an amazing story (with gorgoeus illustrations by Jude Daly) about Magi's trip to see Jesus and what happened when they went back to the East. This one has a GREAT message!

And of course, Tomie DePaola pulls through with:
The Legend of Old Befana -- an Italian folktale of a peasant woman who is too busy to go with the Magi and regrets her decision; she then tries every year to find the Child Jesus, and leaves presents for children just in case he is in disguise.
The Story of the Three Wise Kings -- a wonderful retelling, with dePaola's signature illustrations, of the story of the Magi and their visit to Jesus; this is a classic (but, I think, OOP?)
And, thanks to a recommendation by JennGM, The Gifts of the Magi from the Metropolitan Museum of Art is just basically a treasure. You get a very small sample of gold, frankincense and myrrh -- but more interestingly, you learn lots of little details about the Magi, the meaning behind the gifts and other REALLY cool things. Scattered throughout the small volume (about 5" square) are reproductions of art from the MMA that represent Christmas and Epiphany. Just beautiful! Thanks Jenn!
Crafts Compiled:

1. Crowns -- using strips of yellow bulletin board border paper (which is about the weight of the cardstock and scallop edged) we cut-to-size for each child's head, the kids decorated with star foam-shapes, star stickers and coloring, and then we stapled them (making sure to staple so the two undersides were on the outside to avoid getting caught in hair or cutting skin).

2. Finger puppets -- using pictures of the three kings that I found on the internet and then made into individual "people" and printed on white cardstock, the kids colored these with colored pencils and fine-line markers and glued to wooden spoons to make little puppets.

3. Stars -- created a 5-pointed star on the computer (drawing ray lines coming out from it) and had these printed on yellow card stock; these were for the younger kids (under 5s) to decorate with star stickers. Suggested to the moms to use glitter glue (at home) to make the star sparkle!

4. Coloring pages -- printed a couple of line drawings of the Magi onto regular paper and had these available for coloring as desired.

5. Rubber stamp -- purchased two rubber stamps (one with a king kneeling with the quote, "wise men still follow him" and the other was a large star with swirls inside) and some appropriate colored inks to stamp card stock to be made into cards or framable pictures. These cards could also be embellished with gold, silver or black markers or colored with pencils.

What we ate:
One of the moms made three "King Cakes" -- one a French pastry type called "Galette des Rois", and two "American" cakes -- chocolate with chocolate frosting, spice cake with vanilla frosting. Each cake had a procelain charm inside so we crowned three of our own Magi!

A GREAT time was had by all...

Our Own Kings!

We had a very full Epiphany Sunday:

First, we went to 10 a.m. Mass as Father had mentioned the Magi might stop by and our kids wanted to see them "in person". In addition to Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar (in person and bearing small gifts for the children -- beautiful Saint statues) we had our wonderful Archbishop Charles Chaput surprise us by celebrating Mass. Seems the good Archbishop makes it a point to visit parishes in his archdiocese on a "surprise" visit throughout the year! How cool is that? I can't remember the last time I saw an archbishop or bishop at Mass that wasn't a "state" visit -- like a confirmation or something.

The three kings at Church gave each of our little ones Saint statues -- LegoManiac got the Sacred Heart of Jesus, String Bean got the Blessed Mother holding Baby Jesus, and BamBam got an Immaculate Heart statue -- all are gracing our family altar now that we've taken our Christmas decorations down today.

While we were at Church, my "King Cake" recipe from JennGM was rising. This makes the BEST King Cake! I halved the recipe and it turned out perfectly....

But it seems we have two kings -- I had put two whole almonds in the cake so that the "king" would definitely KNOW he/she should be crowned (without swallowing something inedible); go figure, the two almonds separated and now we have a Royal Pair:
Yep, Granmere and Lego Maniac are royalty -- Lego Maniac immediately imposed an HOURLY (!) tax of $2/hr but Granmere motioned that they would do things more subtly ... UH OH -- I think we're in trouble now.....

They were suitably crowned by the Royal Crown Makers, String Bean and BamBam:

The Three Kings are HERE!

Happy Epiphany from our family to yours ......

When the 3 Kings come, our family opens our stockings -- a great time is always had by all. Here, String Bean and dh are anxiously awaiting the others to come on down and dive in...

The 12 Days of Christmas and a VERY special friend

My family and I have been honored this Christmas to have a secret santa who has brought our family a small gift each day of the 12 days of Christmas. For those of you who are not Catholic, the 12 days are those days that start as Christmas day and last until the day before Epiphany or "Little Christmas" (January 6th).

Well, on Christmas day, when we rec'd the first note I thought "how sweet, I wonder who this can be?" As the days and gifts continued I thought -- this must be Alice G but she's too far away, but it's just the kind of creative, wonderful, charitable thing that Alice would do. I mean this Secret Santa has braved near-blizzard conditions to ensure that my family has rec'd a small token each day. This Secret Santa has made sure we've never caught him/her. This Secret Santa has made our first Christmas in the Big Square State the most memorable ever.

Here are the things we've received:

1. Dec 25th, 1st day: partridge = Jesus in a pear tree= the Cross -- gift was a nativity craft
2. Dec 26th, 2nd day: two turtledoves = Old and New Testaments -- gift was a small suet treat for the birds
3. Dec 27th, 3rd day: three french hens = the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit -- gift was a candy cane ornament with three stripes (and additional ones for eating!)
4. Dec 28th, 4th day: four calling birds = number of Gospels in the New Testament -- gift was four snowflake stickers (not that we needed more snow in the Big Square state!) to represent the purity of the Holy Innocents (whose feast day it was)
5. Dec 29th, 5th day: five golden rings = the first five books of the Old Testament, also known as the Pentateuch, which are Genesis 1:1-2:3; Exodus 1:1-1:7; Deuteronomy 1:1-5; Leviticus 27:34; Numbers 26:13. The number five also represents the number of decades of a rosary -- gift was an ornament of 5 golden rings and a rosary for our intentions
6. Dec 30th, 6th day: six geese a laying = the six days of creation -- gift was a small Jesus, Mary and Joseph as the feast of the Holy Family was approaching
7. Dec 31st, 7th day: seven swans a-swimming = seven gifts of the Holy Spirit:
   * The gift of wisdom, by detaching us from the world, makes us relish and love only the things of heaven.
   * The gift of understanding helps us to grasp the truths of religion as far as is necessary.
   * The gift of counsel springs from supernatural prudence, and enables us to see and choose correctly what will help most to the glory of God and our own salvation.
   * By the gift of fortitude we receive courage to overcome the obstacles and difficulties that arise in the practice of our religious duties.
   * The gift of knowledge points out to us the path to follow and the dangers to avoid in order to reach heaven.
   * The gift of piety, by inspiring us with a tender and filial confidence in God, makes us joyfully embrace all that pertains to His service.
   * Lastly, the gift of fear fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread, above all things, to offend Him. The gift was a couple of bottles of sparkling cider to ring in the New Year!
8. Jan 1st, 8th day: eight maids a milking = number of Beatitudes -- gift was eight packets of milk-chocolate hot chocolate mix (WITH the mini marshmallows -- something very welcome this winter with the cycle of snow storms we've been in)
9. Jan 2nd, 9th day: nine drummers drumming = fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control -- gift was 9 clementines each with a different "fruit" written on them
10. Jan 3rd, 10th day: ten ladies dancing = ten commandments -- gift was 10 commandment-shaped brownies (still warm from the oven!)
11. Jan 4th, 11th day: eleven pipers piping = faithful apostles -- gift was three wise men (to go with the Holy Family received on the 6th day) as a way of reflecting on the steadfastness of those men and their journey to find the Christ Child
12. Jan 5th, 12th day: twelve lords a leaping = the 12 beliefs of the Catholic Church as stated in the Apostles' Creed:
    (1) I believe in God the Father Almighty Creator of Heaven and earth
    (2) And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
    (3) Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,
    (4) Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;
    (5) He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
    (6) He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
    (7) From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
    (8) I believe in the Holy Ghost,
    (9) The Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints
    (10) The forgiveness of sins,
    (11) The resurrection of the body, and
    (12) life everlasting. The gift was a puzzle of the Three Wise Men -- those whose journey culminates in the finding of the Child Jesus in the manger.
13. Jan 6th, Epiphany -- Epiphany which means the manifestation of Jesus to the World; in other words, the fact that Jesus was true God and true Man and the Savior of the World. And we got our epiphany a day early:

Our Advent Blocks revisited

Well, as the Christmas season winds to a close (Feast of Epiphany is tomorrow), I thought you'd enjoy seeing the Nativity Scene LegoManiac and StringBean created. If you'll remember, on one side of the Advent Blocks, was a different character to add to the stable each day.

Here's the stable on November 30, 2006:

and here it is on Christmas morning -- all filled with donkeys, lambs, shepherds, doves, angels and of course the Holy Family

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

... and prayers for a healthy, happy and holy 2007!

Waiting for the New Year

We always let the kids stay up and have a small taste of champagne -- the funny thing is that the older ones always go to bed while the younger ones anxiously await the changing of the clock ....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May you all have a very happy 2007! You are all in my thoughts and prayers tonight and every night of this year....